A Little Piece of You, Forever
by Cobaltwaryear
Summary: A sequel to Happily Ever After. Takes place a year after the first story. Please Read and Review! :)


A Little Piece of You, Forever

Summary: An event that takes place a year after Happily Ever After.  
Disclaimer: I do not own this series.

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Ferris tried to bring herself to rise from bed, but that seemed to be impossible in her current weakened condition. So it was all she could do to stare and glare at the people who were currently crowding around a positively beaming Ryner. But after a few more moments of intense staring; on Ferris' part, someone finally noticed that she had awoken.

"Sorry Ferris, did we wake you up?" Ryner asked to which she just gave a small nod, feeling much too exhausted to even speak.

"Just try and get some more rest. I'll take everyone downstairs for some snacks and come back to you in a bit with your own snack. That is, if you're already up for it." He said, to which Ferris responded with another nod, but this time with all the energy she could muster. Tired or not, there was no way she would miss out a chance to eat her favorite food.

"Alright then, I'll be right back then." He told her, but when he noticed that her attention had shifted from him to what he was holding, he quickly gave her his most calming smile. "Don't worry about a thing; I'll take care of everything." He reassured and that was more than enough for Ferris who rather welcomed a chance to get some more rest while she could.

When she closed her eyes to catch up on some sleep, Ryner took that as his cue to lead everyone downstairs as quiet as possible.

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The next time she awoke, the moon had already rose high up in the sky and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment. After all, if it was already night time then she most probably wouldn't be able to eat her regular afternoon dangos anymore. But before she could begin to lament on her loss, the sound of the door to the bedroom, which she shared with her husband, opening got her attention. She looked up only to see the familiar face of her husband enter the room, carrying with him a tray.

While she didn't get a clear view of what was on the tray, she assumes that it was had food, if the new scents that wafted through the air were any indication. Ryner offered her a small smile as he greeted her. "Good evening, Ferris. Did you have a good sleep?" He asked as he walked to where she was and set the tray down on the nightstand beside the bed.

"Hmm. I feel much better now after getting that much rest." She replied as she tried to sit up, but Ryner quickly stopped her.

"Hey now, take it easy." He told her as he helped her up, before aligning the pillows so they would support her back.

Ferris usually hated being treated like an infirm, but it was another thing altogether to allow herself to be spoiled her husband. Though she would never say it out loud, the fact of the matter is that while she normally had a lot of self discipline and self-control, there were two things in life that she would always find herself indulging in. The first were dangos, especially those that her husband had made, while the second thing was the constant care, to the point of spoiling, that Ryner often gave her.

"I take it that everyone's left?" She asked as she glanced at the tray and saw that she was right with her earlier assumption.

"Yup, they left hours ago." He answered before also glancing at the tray. "I hope you don't mind porridge for dinner." He told her as he took the bowl and spoon that was on the tray and began to take a spoonful of the porridge and blew on it slightly before feeding it to her.

Ferris supposes that she can admit, at least to herself, that Ryner's kindness really is her guilty pleasure as she swallows her food. "It's good, what kind of porridge is this?"

"It's a chicken and herb porridge that Kuku made. She insisted on making it for you, it's a dish from their village that supposed to be good for, uh, women with the same condition as you." He said and she frowned.

"When you put it like that, it's like I have a terrible disease or something." She said flatly as Ryner quickly raised his hands, well, tried to since he was holding onto the bowl and spoon. So it looked more like he was raising them up in the air, more than anything, and Ferris could feel the corner of her mouth twitch upwards at the sight. "Ah, Ferris, Sweetie, that wasn't-" He stuttered and Ferris could feel the small amount of irritation she felt previously begin to melt away.

"Well my condition aside; have you and the kids already eaten dinner?" She asked as Ryner slowly lowered bowl and spoon. "Yeah we did." He replied as he feed her another spoonful of porridge.

"Though I have to say that I'm disappointed that I didn't wake up in time for afternoon snacks." She said and Ryner chuckled. "It couldn't be helped. I came back after an hour to check up on you but you were still asleep, and you look so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you." He told her before adding. "But don't worry your share remains uneaten and untouched. It's just waiting for you to go and eat it."

"Then I'll eat it right now." She stated with such a serious expression that Ryner had to laugh. "No way, you still aren't done with dinner yet. Besides, it's already pretty late. Didn't you say that eating dangos late at night will ruin a lady's figure?"

"My figure is the last thing on my mind right now. But I guess that it is pretty late already, are the kids already asleep?" She asked after swallowing another mouthful of food.

"Yeah the kids already went to bed…" He trailed off and Ferris could only look at her husband in question. "Ryner?"

"Actually, hold that thought." He told her as he set down both bowl and spoon back into the tray and suddenly stood. "Wait just a sec, alright? I just need to check something." It was the only excuse he offered her before he went outside their bedroom.

While Ferris thought of his behavior just now as strange, she didn't ponder on it for very long since it wasn't the first time that he ended up suddenly remembering something he had forgotten. But when the door creaked open again, Ferris could only raise her eyebrow at what was in her husband's arms.

"I know it's late, but she kept waking up every other hour. I think she sleeps most soundly when she's next to you." He told her as he went closer to his wife before sitting on the side of the bed. "But it's amazing how much she looks like you." He said in a soft voice filled with such affection and fondness that Ferris couldn't help it when her eyes started to water a little. "Really? I've always thought that she reminds me of you." She said as she held her hands out.

Ryner quickly got the hint and carefully handed the little bundle to her. Ferris' eyes softened immediately when she saw the little sleeping face peeking out from the soft blanket and she brought the child closer to her. "I bet she's gonna grow up to be a beauty like her mother." Ryner suddenly said as the corner of his wife's face twitched upwards for the second time that day. "That was already a given, Ryner." She told him as if she was stating a fact and he chuckled.

"Funny, considering Sion told me the same thing earlier when he was holding little Illy." Ryner said and Ferris raised a brow at that. "little Illy?" She repeated.

"Uh yeah, it's a nickname that Claugh thought of, and I guess it kinda stuck." He explained before adding. "Oh yeah, dad said that he would be sticking around for a while in Roland. I'm telling you now so you won't be surprised when he shows up tomorrow and the next couple of days or weeks…"

Ferris frowned at that. "I don't think I can handle dealing with him more than his monthly visits." She said with such seriousness over the matter than Ryner could guess what she was going to say next. She didn't disappoint when her next words were. "Alright then, Ryner our new goal is to improve the Lieral Toxic Special to the point that he'll stop visiting."

"We could do that, but I don't really think that it'll be enough to keep from visiting us, let alone keep him from his first grandchild. Though he did say that the one I served him today tasted better than the last one." Ryner said as his face turned thoughtful. "Now that I think about it, my dad must have messed up taste buds since he told me that the Lieral Toxic Special was on his top five favorite dango flavors."

There was a moment of silence before she sighed. "…I guess that true… But serving poisoned dango to your father does have an appeal on its own; so I guess as long as he'll eat them, he can visit us." She said, which surprised Ryner. "Well aren't you being agreeable today?" He said which caused her to give him a small glare. "I'm always agreeable. But I guess giving your father a chance to have a part in our daughter's life isn't such a bad idea…"

"Since he is the only grandparent she has left, it'd be a shame if she grew up without knowing at least the one that she can still meet." Ferris added as she looked at her little daughter who was still sound asleep.

"That's true." Ryner said as he reached out to hold his daughters hand. "It's amazing how just yesterday we were still wondering about being parents and today we're already parents." He told his wife, and she just gave a small nod. While she said nothing, she couldn't agree with her husband any more even if she wanted to. Sure, her pregnancy hadn't been easy since there had been a lot of exhaustion, morning sickness and dizzy spells involved, to the point that she couldn't wait for the child to be born so that it would be over.

But she never once regretted carrying her, no, their daughter. Not once, during those nine months or when during the painful delivery that took place late last night. But it wasn't because she wanted to continue her bloodline or have a legacy, but for the simple fact that this child was hers and Ryner's. Their daughter had both of their blood running through her veins and is the living proof that she and the man she loved most had been able to attain what they've always wanted- family.

While the child had been sleeping soundly earlier on, she suddenly began to stir and after a few moments opened her eyes and deep blue met with warm chocolate brown. "She may have my hair Ryner, but little Illuna has your eyes." She said and inside her mind, added. "They're what I love most about our daughter, and not just because they match your eyes, but because whenever I look into her eyes I know that I have a little piece of you, forever."

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